Mending Wall And The Great Gatsby

Both authors explore the progressive attitudes and how these were received during the time period of both Fitzgerald and Robert. Frost presents this idea in the poem, ‘Mending Wall’. The poem is about two neighbours who every year go to the end of the garden to meet and build a wall together. However, one neighbour is confused as why there needs to be a wall as there is nothing that needs to be divided or prevented from escaping or entering. This neighbour begins to challenge the other neighbour, ‘why do they make good neighbours?’, ‘My apples will never get across and eat the cones under his pines, and I tell him. He only says, good fences make good neighbours.’ This shows that there is clearly no substantial reason for the wall to be built but one neighbour carries the view that ‘good neighbours make good fences’ and no

So in the poem the ‘Mending Wall’ progressive attitudes are shown to be suppressed. In contrast, Fitzgerald presents the idea of a progressive attitude specifically related to women and the character of Jordan in a positive light and that is received and accepted by Nick. Jordan is a professional golfer and is a cynical character that contrasts to Daisy. Jordan is an exception to all women in the novel, she was unmarried, athletic and a professional. Not only that but her body language appeared different, for example, ‘She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet’. Her body reflects strength and confidence something that other women in the novel were not seen to